Players Ratings

[Bzzzz]

He's just not a penalty box striker, seems to lack that killer instinct.

I agree, think we need a striker in his place. Thought he missed a lot of chances recently. Not shown enough to warrant his reputation...

[er yir macaroon]

Criticism of Hanley is out of order. He's only 22 and held out under huge pressure. Those who say he has no pace don't watch the game and merely assume it because of his large frame. When he's 26 he'll probably be our captain and a top EPL player.

[Auld_Reekie]

Said it before on here, but not a fan of Fletcher's at all and thought he was a major weakness on Friday. Slow, almost lazy and is just not producing it at international level. Worringly, I see nothing in Chris Martin either at this level and we're going to have to try another striker because Naismith can't do what he does and sit up top as well. That said, I would rather play Naismith up front with another attacking midfielder than play Fletcher or Martin on current form.

Other than that, good team performance. Young Robertson was outstanding. Lacked creativity at times against a static and stubborn Irish side.

[Davied14]

Marshall- 7. Good stop from McGeady's volley, well positioned to catch Long's header and took a couple of corners cleanly. Scotland's number 1.

Whittaker- 6. Solid performance and kept his concentration defensively.

Martin- 7. Leader of the back four.

Hanley- 7. Poor touch led to his booking but dealt with everything Ireland threw at him otherwise.

Robertson- 8. MOTM for me. Carried out his defensive duties and supported the attack well.

Brown- 7. Controlled aggression helped us win the midfield. Set up goal too.

Mulgrew- 8. Close second to Robertson for MOTM. Would have been top man if he buried that header in the first half.

Maloney- 8. Another top performer. Great touch to control Martin's long ball and set up Fletcher for a chance in the first half.

Naismith- 7. Covers every blade of grass and shows good touches around the box. Won some vital headers in his own box too.

Anya- 6. Not the usual threat going forward but combined well with Robertson to subdue Coleman.

Fletcher- 6. Should have buried chance late in the first half and done better with a header from a corner too. Not an out and out goalscorer but a good footballer.

Subs:

Martin- 5. Missed a great chance to become a hero. Looks too immobile for International football.

Fletcher- Late sub to eat up some time.

[davew]

A couple of thoughts,

Hanley was immense!

The occasion maybe got to him a little bit as he made too many fouls in the first half, but look at the number of headers and tackles he won, the number of blocks and clearances. On top of that his passing was good, better than Martin's even.

After that performance, I now realise Hanley will be a top defender in 2-3 years time

Mulgrew was immense!

The best I've ever seem him play. I honestly thought he'd be nowhere near the team aswell. WGS knows what he's doing.

He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. He was really good on the ball, everything seemed to go through him and, his passing was good.

[SMcoolJ]

Mulgrew, Maloney and Robertson were the standouts for me. All 3 had fantastic games. Thought Brown was excellent and did so much off the ball graft. I think Whittaker and Hanley are getting lower marks than they should be - both were defensively excellent. I'm now beginning to think I'd have Whittaker in before Hutton. Nevertheless, the whole team worked hard and played really well as a unit, not one weak link. We were up againt a very typical O'Neill team, however, we rolled our sleeves up, refused to be bullied (if anything, we did some bullying) and coped with it, while still managing to play some football.

Well done lads. Strachan just gets it. Mark of the man that he kept giving the plaudits to McCall for the goal. Class act.

[Kirk]

I really like Hanley think he is very raw but he looks a good player and will only improve. I read something maybe on here about him and Martin,possibly from Martin and it was basically saying Hanley likes to attack the ball, especially in the air, so Martin sits back and sweeps when he does this. If you watch the game you will see it all!most every time the ball is punted up our end. They are forming a very good partnership.

[macy37]

he had a great right hand tho

#Left

[albathebrave]

#Left

See didnt even touch his hand!

[Slide tackle]

Criticism of Hanley is out of order. He's only 22 and held out under huge pressure. Those who say he has no pace don't watch the game and merely assume it because of his large frame. When he's 26 he'll probably be our captain and a top EPL player.

Agreed, i think hes fantastic

[andyD]

Aye, was pleased for Hanley that he still had a decent game even after a fairly early booking. He could have gone the other way, and stood off too much, not made tackles or done something stupid for a 2nd card. He stayed disciplined and didn't make the ref make a decision. Well done to him.

Think Anya's performance is being a bit under-rated. Coleman's a quality fullback and he's a big threat for ireland going forwards, as well as solid defensively. How much did you see of him coming forwards on Firday? Pretty much none. Anya's pace alone meant he had to stay back more so as not to get caught, something a slower player (Bannan, Burke, Dorrans) just wouldn't have done. He carried the ball reasonably well, put in a few decent crosses and also wasn't as wasteful as he has been on some previous occasions. he cut back in and rolled it into someone rather than hit a wild cross to nowhere with his left. A Solid 7/10 for me.

Mulgrew was standout, Robertson was standout. Marshall's kicking was just embarrassing. Brown seemed quiet. Whittaker was reasonably steady, couple of moments, but he did ok. Everyone else, good games.